Nerses Bedros XIX ( hy, Ներսէս Պետրոս ԺԹ. Թարմունի) (17 January 1940 – 25 June 2015) was the patriarch of the

Armenian Catholic Church , native_name_lang = hy , image = St Elie - St Gregory Armenian Catholic Cathedral.jpg , imagewidth = 260px , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Saint Elias and Saint Gregory the Illuminat ...

. He was the second son and the fifth of eight children born to Elias Taza and Josephine Azouz. He completed his primary and secondary studies at the College of the

Brothers of the Christian Schools french: Frères des Écoles Chrétiennes , image = Signum Fidei.jpg , image_size = 175px , caption = , abbreviation = FSC , nickname = Lasallians , named_after = , formation ...

(''Frères des écoles chrétiennes'') in Cairo.Armenian Catholic Church
He felt a vocation for the priesthood very early in life and thus was sent to the Armenian Leonine Pontifical College in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

in 1958 where he studied Philosophy and Theology at the

Pontifical Gregorian University The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school ( pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as ...

. His Bishop, Raphaël Bayan ordained him as a priest in Cairo on 15 August 1965. In Heliopolis he was known as Father Pierre Taza. He served the parish of the Armenian Catholic Cathedral of the Annunciation in Cairo from 1965 to 1968 with the Rev John Kasparian who, in 1982, became Catholicos-Patriarch under the name of Hovhannes Bedros XVIII (John Peter XVIII Kasparian). From 1968 to 1990, Pierre Taza was

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

of the parish of St Therese of Heliopolis in Cairo. On 18 February 1990, he was ordained

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

of the

Eparchy Eparchy ( gr, ἐπαρχία, la, eparchía / ''overlordship'') is an ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity, that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. Eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on th ...

(Diocese) of

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

for Egypt and

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

by the

laying on of hands The laying on of hands is a religious practice. In Judaism ''semikhah'' ( he, סמיכה, "leaning f the hands) accompanies the conferring of a blessing or authority. In Christian churches, this practice is used as both a symbolic and formal met ...

of Jean Pierre XVIII. From 1992 to 1997, as member of the Catholic

Hierarchy A hierarchy (from Greek: , from , 'president of sacred rites') is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) that are represented as being "above", "below", or "at the same level as" one another. Hierarchy is an important ...

of Egypt, he was the General Secretary of the Pastoral Council of the Catholic Church of Egypt. As a member of the

Synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...

of the Bishops of the Catholic Armenian Patriarch Church, he was: *Member of the Council of the three Bishops to direct the Patriarchal Curie from 1993 to 1995 *President of the Patriarchal Commission for the Vocations from 1993 to 1995 *Member of the Permanent Synod as of 1994 In October 1999, he was elected by the Bishops of the Holy Synod of the Catholic Armenian Synod,

Catholicos-Patriarch of Cilicia This is a list of the Armenian Catholic catholicos patriarchs of Cilicia, officially the Catholicos Patriarch of Cilicia of Armenian Catholics. The Armenian Catholic Patriarchate of Cilicia was established in 1740 following a schism within the A ...

of Armenian Catholics and took the name Nerses Bedros XIX. He remained in this position until his death on June 25, 2015.

References

External links

Biography on official site of the Armenian Catholic Church
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nerses Bedros XIX 1940 births 2015 deaths 21st-century Eastern Catholic bishops 20th-century Eastern Catholic bishops Armenian Catholic Patriarchs of Cilicia Armenian Eastern Catholics Egyptian Eastern Catholics Egyptian people of Armenian descent Clergy from Cairo Pontifical Gregorian University alumni Eastern Catholic bishops in Africa

See also

References

External links